Fitness: Why sports courses at adult education centers are completely underestimated

EThere are supposed to be people who are blessed with a warm flood of dopamine and serotonin when they exercise. Who feel exhilarated after their boxing, basketball or dance training, as if there was nothing better in life than exercise. Their entire body sends a kind of benevolent signal along the lines of: It was worth it again, can hardly wait for the next session!

Nothing is happening for me.

Like a potato that cooks in bubbling water for 40 minutes and still doesn’t change its physical state in the slightest, I’ve been leaving swimming pools, tennis courts and yoga studios for years. My physique is hardly impressed by all the effort.

Nevertheless, of course, a little physical activity doesn’t do any harm to maintain your health – especially with a classic desk job. At the same time, I decided a while ago that I wanted to spend less money on regular fitness; the fun (or the lack of it) should no longer cost a fortune.

That’s how I came across the offer at the local adult education center (VHS). As non-profit institutions throughout Germany, these stand “for a diverse educational offering, for reliable quality, openness for all citizens as well as affordable and socially priced prices”. This is what the VHS Düsseldorf writes on its homepage.

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The VHS in the North Rhine-Westphalia state capital alone offers almost 200 courses in the area of ​​health and exercise; The following applies to all adult education centers nationwide: Approximately 33 percent of all courses fall into the sports category, says Sabrina Basler from the German Adult Education Association in Bonn. The offering is mostly similar to that of privately run studios à la Fitness First, Urban Sports Club and Co. – from relaxation techniques to fencing, Feldenkrais and karate to kayaking. From water aerobics to pelvic floor exercises, badminton and archery to Zumba dance.

The offers take place throughout the week, at a variety of times, for every level and with different lengths (introductory and weekend seminars, workshops, educational holidays and courses lasting several weeks) – and above all: for a fraction of what the cycling studio costs demanded, which I briefly flirted with despite the aforementioned financial resolutions.

At the VHS I pay just as much for three months of fitness gymnastics with one 60-minute session per week as for two (!) sessions in the aforementioned cycling temple. Or calculated down: A 45-minute lesson in VHS sports costs an average of three to four euros. Basler from the VHS Association knows that many adult education centers offer additional reduced prices for socially disadvantaged people, seniors or severely disabled people.

I think it’s a real bargain and unbeatable for training led by a local expert. If you no longer want to take part for whatever reason, you pay the full fee. However, there is no risk of being stuck with the subscription forever because the contract ends with every course.

According to a survey by the Statista platform, the consumer price index for gym fees in Germany was 108.5 in 2023. This means: The prices – an average of 45 euros per month – have risen by more than eight percent since 2020.

No fuss, just focus on what’s important

But the VHS Düsseldorf lacks the ultra-modern ambience. A simple but in good condition room with a large ballet mirror in a building behind the main train station will have to suffice. The same applies to other adult education centers in Germany, which either have their own premises or rent external ones due to high demand for sports courses. “Especially in larger cities, the VHS usually tries not only to offer courses at a central location, but also to distribute them at various locations throughout the city so that people have the shortest possible distances,” explains Basler.

Everyone brings their own towels, as well as drinks, which are free in chic studios and flavored with lemon slices and mint leaves. Simple rubber balls and hula hoops replace equipment that costs several thousand euros but is often used in regular fitness centers. Sweat nicely after sweating? I look for the sauna (as well as showers) in vain. But you don’t need any of that for muscle stimulation.

My mat, which is already losing material on one side because it was found on the bargain table of a US supermarket about ten years ago for seven dollars, fits perfectly into the surroundings. It’s not all brand new, but it’s still functional. I’ve heard that some university or club sports take place in a much more challenging environment. German gyms: often like ruins.

At my fitness course on Monday evenings at 6 p.m. there are (maximum) ten other participants at the start (so no crowds in the room), almost all of them over 50, i.e. 15 years older than me. What I particularly appreciate about them, in addition to their open-minded nature, is that there is no fuss. Nobody cares whether someone shows up in the latest Lululemon collection or in the sweatpants that already saw the change.

Here we concentrate on the essentials. The only goal: stay fit and have fun doing it. “The social interaction that occurs in sports and exercise courses is usually the actual healthy success factor,” says Falk Velten, who, upon request, commented on its VHS offering on behalf of the city of Düsseldorf.

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Of course, ambition is not necessarily linked to the decades of life completed. But in other studios, I think the younger audience in particular looks more to the right and left. In the VHS, the size of the muscles plays the least role.

Young people look for their courses online

However, this is precisely why many adult education centers struggle with the cliché of targeting a clientele of early retirement age. Falk Velten restricts: The adult education center sees participants of all age groups, “even though it is much better known among the 45 plus generation. With new, modern offers at later times, we would like to specifically address the young and working target group.” If an event starts before 7 or 8 p.m., older participants are more likely to attend. “In the evenings and on weekends we appeal more to younger people and those interested in working.”

“Most of the course participants are actually 45 and older,” notes Veronika Bork. Since 2001 she has been running sports courses part-time at the adult education center in Düsseldorf. Like Bork, most trainers earn their money with another job; they probably work at the VHS for an hourly fee mainly because of their always noticeable – and for me, infectious – enthusiasm. I also find this to be a plus point compared to the usual offerings of popular fitness studios. Some of my Monday evening gymnastics colleagues have been taking Bork’s classes for two decades.

Bork believes that one reason for the lack of registrations among younger people is the lack of advertising that cities place for the courses. In case of doubt, a poster here and there is not enough, especially since the online catalogs that list the relevant courses look more like, yes, an offer from a German authority. “Apart from that, many people look for their courses online.”

Sure, that’s an advantage: If I open my laptop at home to look for a Pilates video on YouTube, if in doubt I don’t pay any money and save myself the journey. If I feel like it, it would also be possible to go to the mat at 10 p.m. instead of taking the tram to the VHS at 5:30 p.m. sharp – which is rush hour.

I also find the long break, which at adult education centers is divided into semester holidays like universities, to be less than ideal. When we’re halfway fit, after three to four months we have to say goodbye to each other again for around eight weeks. My booked Pilates course recently fell through completely. According to the experience of the VHS association in Bonn, the failure to take part in courses in the area of ​​exercise and sports in particular is, as mentioned, “a rare problem”. I was probably just unlucky.

One thing is certain: I don’t want to miss out on my fitness course in the future either. Because, no, unfortunately my body is still not sending a benevolent signal saying: It was worth it again.

But my psyche. She can hardly wait for the next session.